The King’s Tutor explains about training visitors to look away
Published
by
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi
JVL Introduction
Michael Rosen’s naive and suggestible King learns from his Tutor the importance of training people to look away.
The desired end result is that “People end up not asking questions about the explosions.”
As ever, any resemblance between this dialogue and real world people and events is purely coincidental.
NWI
This article was originally published by Michael Rosen's Facebook on Wed 9 Oct 2024. Read the original here.
How to look away
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“By the way, your Highness. The Emperor has delivered to us those 2000 tonnes of hay he promised for the horses” said the tutor.
Said the King, “jolly good! Does that mean we can venture forth and capture more lands on which to graze our sheep?
“I’m afraid we are running short of horses due to the explosions and all the sheep appear to have run away” said the Tutor, shaking his head in sadness.
“Oh” said the King. “We better go back to the castle. It looks as if there is a storm imminent”.
“Very wise”, said the Tutor.
Thank you Michael: Your story reminds me of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, from the Bible’s Book of Daniel
I’m on a Council of Governors for our local Mental Health Trust. We’re trained in exactly this way & it enfuriates me. I sent a letter for publishing in the Governors’ Newsletter for members. I suggested staff should talk to refugee patients with sympathy for their traumatic experiences in their homelands because they identify with Palestinians and need to know we’re on their side. This letter was rejected as it was “political” using the word “genocide” which is apparently unforgiveable, because politics cant be included in the NHS! My argument is that it is exactly this denial which causes Mental Illness and if we ignore the issues we’re compounding the trauma. I was deemed unacceptable…
Who is the King? And who the Tutor? And who the noble and distinguished visitors? ‘but..but where does that get us?’‘People end up not asking questions about the explosions’. A decade ago “Israelis gather on hillsides to watch and cheer as military drops bombs on Gaza… People drink, snack and pose for selfies against a background of explosions as Palestinian death toll mounts in ongoing offensive” (Manchester Guardian 20 July 2014). Far from ‘looking away’, these people treated the whole shooting match [sic] as a spectacle. As do those valiant members of today’s IDF who record their acts of derring-do and post them on you tube. And the man and woman in the street? ‘Israel goes from shock to anger, denial and fear’ “Café terraces in Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem are still crowded with people enjoying espressos and croissants, as if oblivious to the war…. They do talk about it, of course… Sure, the cafés are full: it’s easy to pretend the Palestinians are invisible and carry on as normal. But people are depressed.” (Le Monde Diplomatique September 2024). And there it is. Jewish victimhood. “What do Israelis think will happen after the war? They’re not sure, but they would really like not to have to think about the Palestinians any more “ (ibid). And there’s the rub. On 2 December 1917 Lord Rothschild – to whom the [in]famous Balfour [letter] Declaration had been addressed – spoke at the Royal Opera House to a packed audience of jubilant Jews “That Declaration… placed Jews on their honour to respect the rights and privileges … of their prospective non-Jewish neighbours in Palestine…” Which begs the question: does ‘placed on one’s honour’ have any resonance in Jewish Weltanschauung? Or is Zionism the over-riding goal? The end justifies the means. No matter what.
What would the King of the Protestants think about such things
Chosen by God and taxed accordingly (which means not at all)
Still as Diddy David Cameron his one time 1st Minister used to say ‘at least we are all in this together”
Now for the Israeli version
“Why do those pesky Arabs keep getting themselves killed by our bombs and bullets
It’s a complete mystery to us, the chosen ones, here in God’s country
Who will be looking away when the explosions are inside Israel?